"Oi, Ai-chan! How is it progressing?" Kofuku asked as she peeped over my shoulder. I had a pen in my hand and I was scratching my head, or rather tugging fistfuls of my hair. "Arghhh, I hope I got it right," I muttered as I tapped a list I had been given. It was this year's Valentine's requests and I felt so overwhelmed when I saw them. I felt like they had doubled and all of the requests weren't pretty to look at.
"Please mend my relationship!" the words jumped into my face as I scanned the wooden pieces until I felt like yelling. "Didn't the council say that if I learned about love, everything would fall back into place?" I moaned as I slammed my head on the table. Akito patted my back as he handed me a cup of Earl Grey tea, which I downed in a few gulps.
Man, I thought the problem would be solved before the time came. Not only did requests poured in until the others had to evacuate to make way for me to do my work but the mansion was going nuts as well. They had to send all the requests to me and it was like getting sacksful of coal from Santa Claus. And due to the chaos that had happened last year, there were more Phantoms for Yato to slay and more work for everyone so most people were on edge.
"Don't worry. We'll get it done," Akito said as he placed a hand on me, calming me a little as the door slammed open. "Hey, Kofuku! Have you done mapping out the places yet?" Yato said as he stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. "Yeah, Yatty," she said as she handed Yukine a map, who turned pale.
"Oh shit. At this rate, we need to get Bishamon to help us!" he groaned as he sat down. The two of them had been out the entire day and the sun was starting to set, meaning more Phantoms for them to rend. "Come on. Let's leave the perpetrator to do her work," Yato said as he and Yukine headed out again. I flushed a little as I bent my head over the requests, hoping they wouldn't slice me into pieces for getting them into the mess.
"Come on, Ai-chan! You should take a break!" Kofuku said as she massaged my shoulders. "Oh man! I hope we can get this over quick," I moaned as I stretched. Things were getting heated among the humans as the residues of last year's chaos started to pile up in the human world. People were getting agitated about this year's Valentine's Day and some couples had broken into really bad fights. The other gods were busy trying to handle the problems as well and although business was booming, they were working overtime until Tenjin nearly blew up Mount Fuji in anger. I was called occasionally to try to mend some marriages but sometimes, it ended pretty ugly.
"Come on, guys. You need to eat," Daikoku said as he entered the room with some food. He set it down on the table; a nice steaming hot pot and we quickly jumped into it. Yato and Yukine were busy getting rid of Phantoms and solving marriage problems; Bishamon and her team rending Phantoms; Tenjin having to deal with both school requests and the occasional desperate student who had a break-up and Daikoku and Kofuku having to map out possible vents and cook food for us. Akito sat next to me to help me sort out the wooden pieces and to advice me but since he was kinda new to this thing, I could only hope how accurate his judgement could be.
"Well, I guess we have to start with the next pile after dinner," I muttered as I gulped down my tea. "Ah! I have to map out all the vents for both Yatty and Bisha later!" Kofuku groaned as she rolled out multiple maps, marker in hand. Daikoku shuffled off to do the housework and I got back to my things. We were halfway trying to sort out a bunch of wooden pieces when the door swung open, the cold entering the room.
"Oh, Aiko!" Keiko squealed as she tumbled into the room as my jaw dropped. Tomoko stood behind her, calmly taking off her shoes. "Guys! What are you doing here?" I blurted as Keiko threw herself onto me. "To help you with Valentine's Day, duh!" she said as she sat down. "Hi! I'm Keiko, the goddess of happiness and this is Tomoko, the goddess of wisdom! Nice to meet ya!" she grinned as she waved at us. Kofuku looked dumbfounded for a minute before she shook hands with them.
"I'm Kofuku, the goddess of poverty!" she smiled as Keiko rubbed her cheek against hers. Both of them squealed with happiness as Tomoko just sighed. "I hope we didn't interrupt you in a bad time but we couldn't find out your location until one of your Shinki told us about you being here. Although we didn't expect you to be in cahoots with a god of calamity and a goddess of poverty," she said as the other two played around a bit. Daikoku's mouth dropped and his cigarette rolled onto the ground as he gaped at his two new guests.
"Oh, man. We're going to become a hotel at this rate…" he muttered as he went back into the kitchen. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get to work!" Keiko squealed as she squeezed next to me and Akito. "Oh! New Shinki! What a hottie," she growled as Akito flushed. "Oi, don't tease him," I said as I yanked her next to me. "You got the books?" I asked and Tomoko nodded as she shuffled to my side. "Well people! Let's save this Valentine's day!" I shouted as we got to work.
We spent the entire night sorting through the requests. Akito untangled and gave us the wooden pieces while I consulted with Tomoko about the couples. Keiko just sat in the happy corner where she managed to even close some of the vents that Kofuku had pointed out. Guess happiness really overcomes bad luck. "Thanks so much guys," I whispered to Tomoko as I tossed a wooden piece to Keiko to bless. Kofuku caught it first and Keiko wailed at how she might just end up screwing up the relationship.
"That's what friends are for right?" she said as she eyed the scene. Yato and Yukine were slumped in a heap in the corner, too tired to move after their work and Daikoku shuffled in and out of the room like a robot, handing out tea before retreating to do housework, his pink apron wrapped around his waist. Everyone was exhausted and even Kofuku and Keiko were too sleepy to poke each other with jokes. Akito looked like he could sleep there and then.
"Come on. We better get some shut-eye," I mumbled as she closed the book. "Come on guys. Bed time," I yawned as I clapped my hands. People just started to move about the room, sleeping comfortably on the floor. I could even hear Daikoku snoring loudly from the kitchen. As I looked around, I realized just how many close allies I had made over the past year and to think I was all alone in my suffering, I felt so stupid now. As I looked at the pile of finished wooden pieces, I smiled as I saw Akito sleeping like a baby, a hand pillowing his face. "Sweet dreams, Akito-kun," I whispered as I covered him with a blanket. His face softened as he turned around, a soft groan coming from him. I pecked a kiss on his cheek and moved next to Tomoko, who raised an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised you even did that," she muttered as we laid down on the ground. The air was a bit cold and I shivered in my blue jumper. "He nearly died because of me," I said as I laid down, my back releasing all the stress I had been putting on it the entire day. "After what happened with him, you fell into such depression I thought you wouldn't be able to climb out. How did he do it?" she wondered as she watched Akito stir in his sleep. "Its because he loves me. And I love him back. By doing that we trusted each other and would do anything to overcome the problem, even if one is stubborn and unwilling to yield, the other would be patient in letting them do it," I whispered as she smiled. "You can become a goddess of wisdom now," she said as I laughed softly. "Yeah, maybe," I mumbled as sleep overtook me.
….
The days flew by and soon we awoke on Valentine's Day to find the sun shining high in the sky. I yawned as I stretched, my bones creaking like an old woman. But then again, I was nearly a millennium years old. "Oh man. What is the time?" I groaned as I sat up, my eyes heavy with sleep. The clock read ten and I flung myself back onto the floor, shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun. Yato and Yukine were nowhere to be seen and I could hear the sound of food being cooked wafting from the kitchen. I presumed they were making bacons and eggs for breakfast judging from the smell.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes to see Akito carefully placing all the wooden pieces into bags. All the work we had done lead up to this moment. "Happy Valentine's Day," he smiled as he handed me a cup of tea. "Thanks," I said as I drank it, warmth filling me from head to toe. "Today is the day huh? Any news from the others?" I asked as I ran my hand through my hair. "You look good doing that," Akito grinned as he looked at me. "Shut up," I muttered as I flushed red. He had been teasing me like this for a while now and I still found it gross, to a certain extent.
"Yato and Yukine said so far there weren't that many Phantoms. Bishamon and her team have things under control on their end," he reported as he handed me their reports. As I glanced through it, I breathed a sigh of relief. So far, there hasn't been any crazy thing going around except for the occasional breakup with was this time due to my professionally consulted doing. "If things continue to go well, the gods will allow me to go home," I said as he squeezed my hand. "Yeah. But I feel like this is more of our home now," he said. "Yeah. You kinda grew up here," I said as the others laughed in the kitchen. Tomoko was buttering toast in the corner of the kitchen but I saw her smiling as Daikoku fed the other two bacon like little kids. I smiled as I watched our tiny gaggle of gods and Shinki mingle as my phone buzzed.
"Yo," I said as Yato's voice filled my ear with a yowl. "Oi, you better get here quick!" Yato shouted as I pulled the phone from my ear. "What happened?" I demanded as he started to spew out the details. My heart sank as he filled me in. Damn it, so that was what the gods meant when they said when I had learnt to love, things would go back to normal. But I thought they meant I didn't have to do anything other than handle Valentine's Day!
"Address!" I snapped and he spewed the address to me. "Come on, Akito. We've got work to do," I said as I stood up. The others had come from the kitchen, the air heavy with the smell of food. "Ai-chan. Whats going on?" Kofuku asked as I pulled on my jacket, Akito getting ready at the door. "I have to take care of my mistakes," I said as I went to wear my shoes. As I did the laces, I felt pressure as Kofuku and Keiko flung themselves onto me.
"Ai-chan! Come back safe!" Kofuku sobbed. "Aiko! We need to do this again! It has been such a fun time!" Keiko wailed as tears fell from her eyes. I detangled myself from them but placed my hands on their heads, rubbing them like kids. "Don't worry. I have Yato and Bishamon to keep me company. We'll be alright!" I said as they sniffed. As I walked to Akito, he reached out a hand, his hair waving in the wind, making him look like an angel. "Shall we?" he said as I took it. Excitement and fear bubbled within me. "Let's do this!" I shouted as we disappeared into a flash of light.